


I Love You AU

by Behind_The_Hood



Series: Superbat Tumblr Drabbles, Snippets, and Prompts [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Coping, Denial of Feelings, F/M, I Love You, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Break Up, Rejection, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-07-12 15:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19948504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Behind_The_Hood/pseuds/Behind_The_Hood
Summary: He wouldn't have said it unless he meant it. Right? Right?!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous asked: Prompt: Superbat and one of the rare times Bruce actually says the words “I love you” out loud.

“I love you.”

Clark blinks. Then laughs, a little incredulous. “Bruce,” he says, amused and worried in equal measure. “You’re high.”

Bruce shakes his head. “I’ve taught myself to act normal under the affects of morphine.”

“Uh huh.” Clark isn’t so sure about that.

Bruce needed to have his appendix removed after it ruptured. It’d been during a battle so _obviously_ he hadn’t said anything, and everyone proceeded to worry when he suddenly threw up.

He seems to be all better now though, and purses his lips. “ _I have_.”

“I believe you.”

His lips only grow tighter together, his eyes narrowing. “You’re a terrible liar, Kent.”

Clark snorts, still smiling. “That sounds more like you.”

Bruce doesn’t respond as Dr. Thompkins comes in and gives him more morphine, but instead reaches for Clark’s hand, his eyes quickly growing heavy as it hits his system. So much for acting normal under the influence.

“I mean it, Clark,” he nearly slurs. “I love you.”

His grip falls slack, his eyes close. It brings a gentle smile to Clark’s face.

Until he mumbles, “Please, don’t marry Lois.”

Clark’s breath catches. Bruce’s heart rate slows as sleep takes him, and Clark swallows back all the questions his brain, tongue, and heart are demanding to know the answers to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Could we get a part 2 to the Superbat “I love you” prompt? Pretty please?

Lois is sound asleep beside him, her heartbeat slow and rhythmic. Normally he’d find it soothing, but now his mind is drifting to another heart, beating wild with adrenaline and pain across the bridge.

_I love you_ , he’d said. _Please, don’t marry Lois._

He looks over at her, face lax and breath soft. Her lips are smooshed by her pillow, her eyelashes touching her cheeks, her hair in a halo around her head. She’s beautiful.

Don’t marry Lois? How could he not? She’s the love of his life.

And Bruce is his _best friend_. He’d asked him to be his best man! He knew how he felt about Lois. Why didn’t he say something sooner?

It occurs to Clark, sudden and unwanted, that Bruce probably never would have said anything at all, if he hadn’t been high. Bruce would have stood by his side at the alter as he said vows to Lois and tied himself to her for all her life, and Bruce would have handed him her ring, all while silently harboring feelings for him.

He sits up, putting his face in his hands.

How could he not… _say_ something?

But of course he wouldn’t. Who was Clark kidding. This is Bruce.

Lois is still sleeping when he slips out of bed and out the window. He just needs some time to think.

What does he do with that sort of information? He hasn’t spoken to Bruce since he’d said the words. Bruce has been avoiding him, and Clark can take a hint, even if it’s the last thing he wants.

But if he isn’t planning to leave Lois for Bruce, then does it even matter?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Are you planning more parts to the Superbat I Love You prompt? May I formally request a third part?

When Bruce finally starts talking to him again, it isn’t to apologize for the cold shoulder or screening his calls through Alfred, it’s to find out how the wedding is coming along, as though he hadn’t asked Clark to cancel it a little over a month ago.

Clark swallows it like the bitter pill it is, and tells him it’s fine, that Lois has picked out her dress.

“That’s good,” he says. He sounds distracted, and by the noise in the background Clark assumes he’s busy welding and is using Bluetooth to talk.

No, he wouldn’t give Clark his undivided attention right now. If Clark had to guess, Bruce is going to continue distancing himself until they can both pretend he’d never confessed his feelings, like they don’t matter and never did.

A shot goes off in the background, followed by a lot of cursing from several people, and then Dick shouting Jason’s name. Bruce sighs over the line. “I have to go.”

The call is ended without a goodbye, and Clark feels ten times heavier for its briefness.

Nothing for a month, and then hardly a minute of his time. He sets the phone on the coffee table and leans back against the couch, wondering when the next call might be, how long it will last.

Gentle hands touch his shoulders, the engagement ring glinting in the light, then side down until Lois is leaning over him, a playful smile on her lips. “Is the grump finally coming out of his cave?”

Clark tries to smile, and knows she can see right through it. “Sort of.”

She soften, her arms wrapping around to hug him. “I know you love him, but he’s a big boy. He’ll be okay.”

Clark is sure his heart has stopped, and he _knows_ he isn’t breathing. “What?” he manages.

She cocks a brow, smirking. “Don’t pretend like you don’t; he’s your best friend. But he’s also _Batman_. He’s just distracted right now, Clark. Don’t let it upset you this much.”

“Oh,” he says, his world working to straighten its axis.

She kisses his cheek, then stands. “You could always go visit him if it’s bothering you this much.”

Clark turns his eyes towards Gotham, dark and dingy even in the daylight. With a heavy heart, he mumbles, mostly to himself, “I don’t think he’d like that.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the-chicago-way asked: Superbat I Love You part 4??? I’m loving it and am dying for them to interact again. These poor boys.

The day is here, and with no word from Bruce until the rehearsal, where all he’d done was make polite conversation and a witty summary of his best man speech. No mention of his feelings, of his confession.

Clark and his groomsmen are waiting at the back of the church to be called into the hall. Bruce is straightening his tie in the mirror, and Barry manages to clear Jimmy out of the room so Clark can talk to Bruce. Yes, he’s cornering him. No, he doesn’t quite care.

“Aren’t you going to stop this before it’s too late?” Clark asks.

Bruce’s eyes cut to him, his face falling neutral. It’s infuriating. “No.”

“Then when?” he demands. Bruce turns away from the mirror to face Clark. “Are you going to wait until the priest asks if anyone objects? To really make a statement?”

“No, Clark.” Bruce crosses his arms, his brows pull together. “I’m not going to do anything.”

Clark isn’t sure why, but he feels defeated for it. “But–”

Bruce walks up and places his hand on Clark’s shoulder. “Do you love Lois?”

“…Yes.” He feels a little bad for hesitating, a little guilty.

“Does she make you happy?”

He nods as he answers again, as weak as before, “Yes.”

Bruce’s lips pull up into a smile, but Clark can see the mix of pain and happiness in his eyes. “I’m not going to do anything.”

And like that, his fate is sealed. “…Okay.”

* * *

True to his word, Bruce does nothing. He walks his bridesmaid down the aisle, he stands smiling by Clark’s side, and he holds the ring in his hand, waiting to pass it off at his cue.

Lois is beautiful in her dress when she’s revealed to the room. Her hair teased up in a bun and her dress hugging her curves. She’s wearing a veil, but it doesn’t cover her face. She’s glowing.

Clark’s throat feels tight as she steps in front of him, and he tries to smile.

She sees right through him.

“Dearly beloved–”

He knows he loves her. He really does, but…but is it the same love he feels for Bruce? Is it the same love Bruce feels for him?“

”–in sickness, and in health–“

He never had time to think about it, to talk about it. And Bruce wasn’t any help. The selfish prick. He never-–he never asked how Clark felt about _him_.

Maybe Bruce didn’t want to hear it.

"If there is any reason–”

Maybe he still doesn’t.

“–these two should not be wed–”

Maybe he was scared of Clark’s answer.

_“Do you love her?”_

_“…Yes.”_

_“Does she make you happy?”_

_“Yes.”_

_Bruce’s lips pulled up into a smile, but Clark could see the mix of pain and happiness in his eyes._

“–speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

“Stop.”

A gasp goes up, and Clark realizes that he’s squeezing his hands together, that he’s starting to sweat. That it was his coarse voice that rang out through the church.

Lois blinks, then her shoulders sag as he repeats, with more vigor in his voice, “Stop.”

A hand wraps around his bicep, and then he’s being pulled away from the alter, none too gently. “Give us a moment,” Bruce says.

Bruce looks beyond pissed as he shoves Clark into the backroom of the church they’d been in before. He slams the door shut. “What were you _thinking_?”

Clark glares. “I was thinking you’d told me you loved me and then left me a confused mess for three months.”

“Are you insane?” Bruce asks. “I told you before you went out there I wasn’t going to do anything!”

“Maybe that was the problem!”

Bruce’s mouth snaps shut, but his glare only grows more intense. Clark matches it.

“You don’t love me, Clark.” Bruce’s voice sounds resigned, like he’s told himself those same word over and over again for God only knows how long.

Clark takes a step closer. “I do love you, Bruce.”

Bruce takes a half step back, shoulders pulling together defensively. He shakes his head, won’t meet Clark’s eyes. “You don’t love me like you love her.”

“You’re right.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Another Superbat I Love You part?? Please? :D

Bruce’s face is carefully blank, his posture purposefully relaxed.

“You’re right,” Clark repeats. “I don’t love you like I love her.”

“Clark, before you say what I think you’re about to say,” Bruce says. “Just take a second and think about where we are.”

…They’re at his wedding. Because he’s supposed to be getting married today. To Lois.

But he can’t do that.

Bruce must read it on his face, because he tries again. “What about her? You’ve spent nearly a year planning the wedding with her, to what? Get cold feet?”

“I don’t have cold feet.” He hates how despondent his voice sounds.

Bruce drags a hand down his face. His voice is strained. “I can’t let you do this, Clark.”

“I can’t marry her, Bruce,” he pleads. “I have too much doubt in my mind, my feelings are torn. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”

Bruce’s careful facade is shattered, and in its place is anger. “Fine. Don’t marry her. But _this_ ,” he gestures between them, “Is never going to happen. I won’t let it.”

When Bruce storms out, Clark feels it would have hurt less if he’d stabbed kryptonite into his heart.

He walks back into the chapel alone, and finds Lois sitting on the steps before the alter, her head propped in her hands and her bridesmaids flocked to her sides. She isn’t crying, but she’s never been quick to cry anyway.

She looks up as he walks down the aisle, and she sees right through him.

She stands and straightens her dress, then meets him halfway. She really does look beautiful in it.

“The wedding’s off, isn’t it, Smallville?”

And that hurts too. Of course it hurts. “…I’m so sorry, Lois.”

Her face is tense for a moment, her arms folded together. But then she gives him a lopsided smile, not totally void of emotion, and pulls him into a hug.

His arms squeeze her a little too tight in return. This may be the last time he can ever do this.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for, Clark.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Any chance of another part to the Superbat I Love You?

Unpacking his boxes doesn’t take him long. Now that he isn’t moving. Lois is still his friend after it all, which he deeply appreciates. After loosing Bruce, he isn’t sure he could handle loosing her too. She’s put a little space between them, she needs time to heal, but she hasn’t turned him away.

Bruce isn’t answering calls from the Justice League right now, and on the roster he’s marked as extreme emergencies only. If Darkseid isn’t attacking, Batman isn’t to be disturbed.

Alfred is screening his calls again, with more sympathy than before.

At least his problems with Bruce haven’t effected Connor’s relationship with Tim. Bruce is keeping this between them.

Clark still goes into work, still teams up with Lois to investigate corrupt politicians and businessmen. He still has to meet his deadlines. He still has to patrol.

But when all is said and done, and he sits on his couch in his dark apartment all alone, he misses Bruce. Bruce has been missing from his life more often than not this past half year. And Clark misses their talks, their quiet companionship, their mutual understanding of the other. Their respect for one another. How they worked together and thought together and fought together.

Bruce has always been a man of action, in everything he does. And pulling away from Clark so fully and completely is his way of telling Clark to move on.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Is there going to be a part 7 of the suberbat I love you? No rush obviously but I’m hooked

His apartment put back together and his life moving on at a snail’s pace, it’s hard to forget about Bruce, just as it’s hard to forget about Lois.

They’d both been so important to him, and while Lois is still in his life, their relationship is more professional than ever. He and Bruce don’t even have _that_ anymore.

Turning to Diana feels like a given.

“I’m sorry, Kal. I know it’s hard to lose people you love,” she says, laying a hand on his shoulder.

She had taken him out for ice cream, and now they’re sitting in a park watching children play fight with sticks. Lois always wanted children.

Clark always wanted children.

“It all happened so quickly…”

She nods. “Life can be that way.”

That doesn’t help.

“But you are not alone, Kal. You have other family, you have other friends, you have other people who love and care about you.”

That helps a little bit.

He gives her a tired smile, his glasses touching his cheeks. “Thank you, Diana.”

She returns his smile. “Eat your ice cream; it will melt.”

He gives a gentle blow to the melting cream, and it solidifies once more. Diana saying nothing, but she looks ready to laugh.

“If you needed,” she starts, after their ice cream is finished, the child have gone home, and the sun has set. “You could take some time off. Stay in the Fortress for a while to get your thoughts and feelings together. Bruce is taking calls from no one right now, but we have checked in and he is fine.”

He’s shutting everyone out, then.

Clark turns his gaze to his feet. “That wouldn’t be a bad idea,” he agrees. “But I don’t feel right leaving Metropolis to itself while I’m gone.”

“You could send Kon. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to get off the farm for a while, no matter how long.”

Connor travels to see Tim every other night, but he doesn’t tell her that. Technically, Clark shouldn’t know either, nor Ma and Pa, but he hasn’t exactly been subtle.

He gives her a nod anyway. “I’ll think about it. I’ll keep my lines open though, in case I’m needed.”


End file.
